Chapter 4 of A gentle pioneer is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A gentle pioneer is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger. One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away. Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door. One of the children opened it shyly, and Agnes entered. The house held four rooms and a lean-to.
Chapter 4 of A gentle pioneer is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.”
accomplishment of an objective
From this reading “THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.”
tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
From this reading “THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.”
past form of “peep” — look furtively
From this reading “One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.”
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading “The house held four rooms and a lean-to.”
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading “One of the children opened it shyly, and Agnes entered.”
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.”
flee; take to one's heels; cut and run
In this reading “One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.”
In this reading “One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.”
In this reading “Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.”
temporarily
In this reading “Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.”
In this reading “The house held four rooms and a lean-to.”
In this reading “Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
accomplishment of an objective
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading One of the children opened it shyly, and Agnes entered.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading The house held four rooms and a lean-to.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading The house held four rooms and a lean-to.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading One of the children opened it shyly, and Agnes entered.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
rough shelter whose roof has only one slope
From this reading The house held four rooms and a lean-to.
a particular point in time
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading One of the children opened it shyly, and Agnes entered.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
past form of “peep” — look furtively
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
in an imperative and commanding manner
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading The house held four rooms and a lean-to.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading One of the children opened it shyly, and Agnes entered.
not in physical motion
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Agnes stood still for a moment and then knocked peremptorily at the door.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading One or two tow-headed children peeped around the corner of the house and then ran away.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED The sharp bark of a dog announced the arrival of a stranger.
Chapter 4 of A gentle pioneer by Amy Ella Blanchard holds 273 sentences, grouped into 55 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 273 sentences of A gentle pioneer, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A gentle pioneer by Amy Ella Blanchard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 273 sentences, grouped into 55 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A gentle pioneer by Amy Ella Blanchard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5238 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 436 minutes of reading across 1048 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A gentle pioneer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of A gentle pioneer to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A gentle pioneer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
